Pinwheel Cookies

Two-toned chocolate and vanilla cookies rolled into a spiral that reveals a gorgeous pinwheel pattern when sliced. One dough, split in half, with melted bitter chocolate folded into one portion. Roll them together, chill, slice, and bake.

The technique is simpler than it looks. Each half gets rolled thin on waxed paper, then the vanilla sheet goes on top of the chocolate sheet. Press them firmly together and roll up like a jelly roll. After chilling, every slice shows off that tight chocolate-vanilla spiral.

These are slice-and-bake cookies at their most elegant. Keep a log in the freezer and you’re always 10 minutes away from fresh, impressive cookies.

Pro Tips

• Roll both dough sheets to the same thickness and roughly the same size. Uneven layers mean lopsided pinwheels.
• Press the two layers firmly together before rolling. Air pockets between them cause the spiral to crack when sliced.
• Chill the log thoroughly until it’s very firm. Soft dough squishes when you cut and the spiral loses its shape.
• Slice thin, about ¼ inch. Thin slices show the pinwheel pattern best and bake crisp in 10 minutes.

Variations

• Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the chocolate dough for a mocha pinwheel.
• Roll the outside of the log in sprinkles or colored sugar before chilling for a festive border on each cookie.
• Make a triple-layer version with vanilla, chocolate, and a red velvet dough tinted with food coloring.